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Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

I had the 8th edition of the London book, but went ahead and bought the 10th edition, thinking that there were probably substantial changes. Of course there are SOME changes, but there is still a lot of information that seems like it wouldn't be very relevant on a certification test in this day and age. I'm just wondering how much I really need to study the chapters on darkroom, developing a negative, mounting a print, etc. I want to spend my time as efficiently as possible. For those of you who have already passed the test, what do you recommend?

Also, how did you study for the test? I read somewhere that there are flashcards, but I've never been able to find a place to purchase them. The recommended reading for the test is quite extensive (and expensive). Any suggestions?

Re: Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

Hi Sky, the link here will take you to quizlet where there are flash cards for you to study for your written test. This was helpful to me when I was studying for the test. The London Book 10th Edition is helpful with questions on color, image density and digital file size as in byte and bit. Not all of the tests are the same so the questions on your test will be different from someone else's test. I studied my butt off and was challenged by several of the questions so study hard and don't rush through the test and you'll do fine. http://quizlet.com/2059436/certified...r-flash-cards/

_____________________________Paul
Paul S. Robinson Photographywww.paulsrobinsonphotography.com
"If one seeks only the praises of his peers, he gains nothing". me

Re: Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

The toughest parts, IMO, are not those that have quick and definite answers, but the ones you have to figure out.

For instance, you need to have firmly memorized the f-stop and shutter speed progressions (in full stops) to figure out which of the exposure combinations they give is equal to, say, f/22 @ 1/30. You have to have memorized both the pigment and light color wheels to figure out what color is opposite Cyan. There will be a number of such problems, so failing to have just those two areas down pat will result in a number of wrong answers.

--Elephants can swim......and very gracefully. Knowing that, I do believe Anything is possible for me.

Re: Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

You might have several questions, for instance, that are like:
"Which of the following answers is 3 stops greater exposure than f/22 @ 1/30?"

or two or three questions like

"Which color given below is opposite Magenta on the color wheel?"

Or even "If a correct exposure for a light-toned subject is f/8 @ 1/125, which of the exposures below would be best for a darker tone that must appear the same?" That would require first understanding if you want to change your exposure at all, then which direction you'd need to change it, and then which of the exposure combinations they give is the one that goes in the right direction from the given starting exposure.

--Elephants can swim......and very gracefully. Knowing that, I do believe Anything is possible for me.

Re: Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

I can tell right away that this is going to get interesting. My memory is NOT what it used to be! LOL Gone are the college days when I could read through the information the night before and ace the test. Guess I better make myself some notecards to go over every day with some of the tricky stuff. Thanks so much for your advice!

Re: Best way to prepare, and how relevant are parts of the London book?

I would definitely make sure that you are able to write out (without looking) all of the F-Stops, ISOs and shutter speeds. Also make sure you know the color wheel (and can draw it out by heart). I didn't read the London book (I meant to, just never had time), but I do think that was where I found one of the charts that I know by heart. Sadly enough, I was disappointed to see that there were only a few questions on the exam that covered these things (this could vary from version to version of the new exam), but those questions are on there. I've been told that the old version of the exam covered a lot more of the technical type questions than I had on the exam that I took last month. All in all, it was a pretty good exam. It had a lot of questions on it that I've personally never read anywhere, but that I just knew based on 10 years of experience. I've heard great things about the prep classes if one of those is available to you. Also, there is a sample test available on the Certified Photographer website that is helpful.

I printed out the resources available on the Certified Photographer website, especially where they have it broken down for you as to how many of each type of question will be on the exam. I then went down that list, glanced over the topics that I had no doubts on, and spent more time on areas that I wanted to be certain of.